ABC Takes First on Saturday with its 31st Replay of "The Ten Commandments"

As All 4 of its Series Post Gains, ABC Wins Easter Sunday Among Adults 18-49

Sunday's No. 1 TV Series in Adults 18-49, ABC's "Desperate Housewives"
Generates its Strongest Performance in 7 Weeks in Viewers and Young Adults

WEEK No. 31:

During the week of April 18, 2011, ABC (1.9/6) finished No. 2 to Fox for the 2nd week in a row among Adults 18-49, beating CBS by 6% (1.8/5) and NBC by 27% (1.5/4). In fact, the Net held the
No. 2 network position for the week across all key Adult demos (AD18-34/AD18-49/AD25-54)

· ABC's new 3-hour Wednesday comedy block continued to outdeliver NBC's established 3-hour comedy block on Thursday (which included the highly-promoted 1-hour, 100th episode of "30 Rock"), leading by 1.7 million viewers (6.1 million vs. 4.4 million) and by 5% in Adults 18-49 (2.2/6 vs. 2.1/6). Also for the 2nd week in a row, ABC's Wednesday comedies from 8:00-10:00 p.m. topped CBS' long-running 2-hour Monday block among Adults 18-49 (2.4/7 vs. 2.3/6).

· Continuing to exhibit year-over-year momentum, for the 4th week in a row and the 5th time in 6 weeks, the Network grew its overall audience from the year-ago frame (+4% - 7.7 million vs. 7.4 million on w/o 4/19/10). In fact ABC was up the most year to year among the major nets.

Rankings: ABC aired 4 of the Top 15 TV programs in Adults 18-49, placing 2 in the Top 4 and the No. 1 scripted show: "Dancing with the Stars" - No. 3, "Modern Family" - No. 4 (No. 1 scripted series), "Desperate Housewives" - No. 9 and "DWTS Results" - No. 11. Please note that "Modern Family" will solidify standing as the highest-rated scripted series in the Live + 7 Day ratings, as the ABC hit comedy is the season's biggest gainer from the preliminary to the final ratings. Season to date among Adults 18-49, "Modern Family" is TV's definitive No. 1 scripted program, as well as the No. 1 comedy. The Net was home to 5 of the Top 15 most-watched television programs overall, including 3 of the Top 7: "DWTS" - No. 3, "DWTS Results" - No. 4, "Body of Proof" - No. 7, "Desperate Housewives" - No. 13 and "Modern Family" - No. 15. ABC's "20/20 SP Edition-4/18" on Monday qualified as the week's No. 1 newsmagazine in Adults 18-49. In fact it was the 3rd time in 4 weeks for an installment of "20/20" to finish as the top-rated newsmagazine in the key young adult sales demo.

Monday

On the first night of Passover, with a shortened edition of "Dancing with the Stars," the return of "Cougar Town" and "A Special Edition of 20/20," ABC posted another convincing first-place finish on Monday night, topping its nearest competitors by 5.2 million viewers (13.9 million vs. 8.7 million - CBS) and by 16% in Adults 18-49 (2.9/8 vs. 2.5/7 - Fox).

· ABC stood as Monday's most-watched television network for the 6th week in a row and won the night in Adults 18-49 for the 5th time in 6 weeks.

"Dancing with the Stars" (8:00-9:31 p.m.)

Shortening its duration week to week from a 2-hour format to a 90-minute format, ABC's "Dancing with the Stars" dominated each of its half-hours in viewers and young adults to win its time slot for the 5th week running. Building steadily throughout its broadcast, "Dancing's" numbers soared by 4.7 million viewers (17.7 million to 22.4 million) and by 42% in Adults 18-49 (3.3/10 to 4.7/12) from its first half-hour to its final half-hour.

· Monday's No. 1 TV show in Total Viewers (20.1 million) and Adults 18-49 (4.0/11), ABC's "DWTS" finished as the night's most-watched program overall for the 5th straight week.

"Cougar Town" (9:31-10:00 p.m.)

On its first telecast in more than 2-months (since 2/2/11), ABC's "Cougar Town" ran a strong second in its time slot among viewers (7.9 million) and young adults (2.2/6), while ranking No. 1 among Women 18-49 (3.1/8).

· On its return, "Cougar Town" marked its most-watched telecast in 15 months - since 1/6/10.

"20/20: William & Catherine: A Modern Fairytale" (10:00-11:00 p.m.)

During the 10 o'clock hour, "A Special Edition of 20/20 - William & Catherine: A Modern Fairytale," anchored by Barbara Walters, beat NBC's original "Law & Order: Los Angeles" by an impressive 2.4 million viewers (7.5 million vs. 5.1 million) and by 55% in Adults 18-49 (1.7/4 vs. 1.1/3).

· In Total Viewers and key Adults (AD18-49/AD25-54), "20/20" scored the highest numbers for any ABC newsmagazine telecast since the beginning of March - since 3/1/11.

Tuesday

ABC (10.8 million) stood as the 2nd-most-watched network on Tuesday night to CBS, topping Fox by 3.7 million viewers (7.1 million) and NBC by 4.3 million viewers (6.5 million).

· Continuing to exhibit year-over-year momentum, ABC built its overall Tuesday audience for the 5th consecutive week, growing its audience from the same night last year by 1.1 million viewers (9.7 million on 4/20/10) over an all-original schedule ("DWTS Results Show"/"Lost"/"V").

"DWTS Results Show" (9:00-10:00 p.m.)

ABC's "DWTS Results Show" led the 9 o'clock hour in Total Viewers (16.3 million) for the 4th consecutive week, standing as Tuesday's most-watched program. In addition, the ABC dancing results show ranked No. 1 in the hour in Adults 18-49 for the 3rd time in the last 4 weeks, topping runner-up, the second hour of NBC's "Biggest Loser: Couples," by 20% (3.0/6 vs. 2.5/6). Supermodel Petra Nemcova was the fourth celebrity to be eliminated from the show this season.

· "DWTS Results Show" posted sizeable year-over-year increases, surging by 19% in Total Viewers and by 25% in Adults 18-49 over the same night last year (13.6 million and 2.4/7 on 4/20/10).

"Body of Proof" (10:00-11:00 p.m.)

ABC's "Body of Proof" registered as the most-watched program (11.4 million) in the 10 o'clock hour for the 4th consecutive week, topping the season finale of NBC's "Parenthood" by 5.1 million viewers (6.3 million).

· The ABC freshman drama was up week to week in viewers (+3%) and key Men (M18-34/M18-49/M25-54), hitting best-since-premiere numbers.

· The new drama improved the hour year to year for ABC by 5.6 million viewers (11.4 million vs. 5.8 million) and by 9% in Adults 18-49 (2.4/6 vs. 2.2/6) over the year-ago night with an original "V."

Wednesday

Up against Fox with a 90-minute "Idol" leading into the comedy "Breaking In," ABC's 3-hour comedy block ranked No. 2 on Wednesday night in Adults 18-49 (2.2/6-tie).

· ABC was up over the same Wednesday last year (4/21/10) in Total Viewers (6.1 million vs. 4.3 million) and Adults 18-49 (2.2/6 vs. 1.6/5), building its overall audience year over year for the 16th time in the last 18 weeks.

"The Middle" (8:00-8:30 p.m.)

Opposite the first hour of Fox's "American Idol" and CBS' "Survivor: Redemption Island" at 8:00 p.m., ABC's "The Middle" jumped over NBC's original "Minute to Win It," more than doubling the NBC game show's numbers in viewers (+126% - 6.8 million vs. 3.0 million) and young adults (+138% - 1.9/6 vs. 0.8/2).

· "The Middle" built 11% week to week in Total Viewers (6.8 million vs. 6.1 million) and 5% in Adults 18-49 (1.9/6 vs. 1.8/6).

"Better with You" (8:30-9:00 p.m.)

Building week to week in viewers (+8%) and young adults (+7%), ABC's freshman "Better with You" once again outperformed NBC's "Minute to Win It" by substantial margins at 8:30 p.m., outrunning the NBC game show by 2.0 million viewers (5.2 million vs. 3.2 million) and by a best-ever 100% in Adults 18-49 (1.6/4 vs. 0.8/2).

· The new ABC comedy equaled its best Adult 18-34 number (1.4/4) in more than 2 months - since 2/9/11.

"Modern Family" (9:00-9:31 p.m.)

Up against the third half-hour of "Idol" at 9:00 p.m., ABC's "Modern Family" qualified as Wednesday's No. 1 scripted TV show for its 20th consecutive original airing this season in Adults 18-49 (3.8/10). The ABC sophomore comedy was also the night's most-watched scripted series overall.

Returning to Wednesday's 9:30 p.m. half-hour for the first time in over 2 months, ABC's "Cougar Town" finished in a virtual-tie with Fox's "Idol"-fueled "Breaking In" among Adults 18-49 (tying in audience share - 2.3/6 vs. 2.5/6), while beating out the Fox comedy for No. 1 in the time period with Adults 18-34 and Women 18-34.

· ABC's "Cougar Town" was up by 5% in Adults 18-49 and by 25% in Adults 18-34 from its most-recent telecast this past Monday (4/18/11) coming out of "Dancing with the Stars." In fact the show posted its 2nd-strongest young adult numbers since mid-January - since 1/19/11.

"Happy Endings" (10:00-10:30 p.m.)

From 10:00-10:30 p.m., Week 2 of ABC's "Happy Endings" finished as the No. 1 series among Adults 18-49 (1.8/5-tie).

· "Happy Endings" generated ABC's 2nd-highest Adult 18-49 number in the half-hour since early February - since 2/9/11.

"Happy Endings" (10:30-11:00 p.m.)

At 10:30 p.m., a second episode of "Happy Endings" beat its network rivals and posted a 14-week high for ABC in the half-hour with Adults 18-34 (1.5/4) - since 1/12/11.

During the 8 o'clock hour on Good Friday, ABC's "Shark Tank" dominated among Adults 18-49 (1.4/5), leading its nearest regular competition by 40% (CBS and Fox tied). In fact the broad-appealing ABC unscripted show ran as the No. 1 series in the hour across all key Adult demos (AD18-34/AD18-49/AD25-54), as well as standing as the top-rated broadcast program with Teens 12-17 and Kids 2-11 (tie).

· Drawing the show's 3rd-largest-ever audience (4.8 million) in its two seasons on Friday night, "Shark Tank" also produced ABC's 2nd-highest Adult 18-49 rating in the time period with regular programming in well over 1 year - since 2/5/10. Over the past two weeks, "Shark Tank" is generating ABC's best young adult numbers with a series in the hour since February of last year.

Saturday

With the 31st replay of the 1956 Cecil B. DeMille classic, "The Ten Commandments," ABC easily qualified as the most-watched network (7.2 million) on Saturday night, leading runner-up CBS by 2.5 million viewers (4.7 million), and registered as No. 1 for the night in Adults 18-49 (1.6/5). ABC grew over the same night last year by 4.0 million viewers and by 100% in Adults 18-49 (3.2 million and 0.8/3 on 4/24/10).

"ABC Special Presentation: The Ten Commandments" (7:00-11:22 p.m.)

Airing from 7:00-11:22 p.m., "The Ten Commandments" encore drew its largest overall audience in
3 years (since 3/22/08) and stood as the Net's most-watched movie on any night in 16 months - since 12/20/09 ("The Santa Clause 3"). The rebroadcast movie finished as the No. 1 program of the night in viewers (6.7 million) and young adults (1.5/5-tie).

Sunday

Leading the pack for the 2nd week in a row, ABC (2.2/6) ranked No. 1 on Easter Sunday in Adults 18-49 with a mix of repeat and originals, defeating NBC's all-original lineup by 10% (2.0/6), CBS' all-original line up 29% (1.7/5) and Fox's animated encores by 83% (1.2/4).

· Up over the prior Sunday for the 2nd week running, ABC gained 5% in viewers (7.8 million vs. 7.4 million) and 10% in Adults 18-49 (2.2/6 vs. 2.0/6) week to week. In fact despite a decline in TV usage levels for the Easter holiday, all 4 of ABC's Sunday programs were up over the previous week in viewers and young adults.

"America's Funniest Home Videos" (7:00-8:00 p.m.)

A repeat "America's Funniest Home Videos" stood as the No. 1 regular program in the 7:00 p.m. hour for the 2nd straight week in Adults 18-49, beating runner-up CBS' original "60 Minutes" by 6% (1.7/6 vs. 1.6/6).

· "AFV" posted its best young adult number in 6 weeks - since 3/13/11.

"Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" (8:00-9:00 p.m.)

Building sharply on its lead-in at 8:00 p.m. and surging by 10% week to week in Adults 18-49, ABC's "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" finished as the No. 2 TV series in its hour among viewers (7.8 million) and young adults (2.2/6). The broad-appealing ABC unscripted show ran as the No. 1 series from 8:00-9:00 p.m. with Women 18-34 (1.4/5-tie) and dominated its broadcast competition with Kids 2-11 (1.6/6). Also in the hour, ABC's "Home Edition" outdelivered NBC's penultimate episode of "America's Next Great Restaurant" by a definitive 4.1 million viewers (7.8 million vs. 3.7 million) and 83% in Adults 18-49 (2.2/6 vs. 1.2/4).

· In viewers and young adults, ABC's "Housewives" turned in its strongest performance in 7 weeks - since 3/6/11.

"Brothers & Sisters" (10:01-11:00 p.m.)

During the 10 o'clock hour, ABC's "Brothers & Sisters" beat out the final hour of CBS' original movie, "Beyond the Blackboard," by 46% in Adults 18-49 (1.9/5 vs. 1.3/4).

· Increasing over the prior week in viewers (+5% - 6.6 million vs. 6.3 million) and young adults (+12% - 1.9/5 vs. 1.7/4), ABC's "Brothers & Sisters" posted its top numbers since the beginning of March - since 3/6/11.

Source: The Nielsen Company (National, Live+ Same Day Program Ratings), week of 4/18/11, unless stated otherwise.